Public filings also reveal that the Walt Disney Company terminated Bob Chapek’s term “without cause.”
Bob Iger is officially back as CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and the seasoned executive is taking a (very small) pay cut in his return to his old post.
According to public filings from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Iger’s annual base salary during this second term will be $1 million. However, under his employment agreement with the company, he also stands to earn a $1 million dollar annual bonus based on performance, as well as a $25 million long-term incentive award for each year of his contract. Thus, Iger can potentially earn $27 million dollars annually while back in the position.
Iger’s contract with the company is set to expire on December 31, 2024. It’s expected that he will exit the company after his term is up, with a new successor to his legacy selected. As such, he will likely make $54 million dollars over the next two years of his term.
While that number is standard for entertainment execs, it’s a slight downturn from Iger’s annual earnings over the course of his first, 15-year run as Disney head from 2005 to 2020. During those years, Iger had a $3 million base salary, and consistently earned between $20 and $40 million per year — last year, when he was the executive chairman of Disney, he earned over $45 million in total compensation. His successor (and now predecessor), the departed Bob Chapek, had a $2.5 million base salary last year, with a total compensation of $32.5 million.
The filings also reveal that Chapek was fired from the company “without cause,” meaning the company did not give a reason for the termination. Chapek, who took over as Iger’s successor in April 2020 after running the company’s Parks and Resorts division for several years, resigned from Disney’s board after the termination. The filings did not state whether Chapek received an exit package from the company — presumably, he received some payout, as Disney previously extended his contract by three years in June.
Chapek’s tenure was marked by controversy and PR issues, including a lawsuit from Scarlett Johansson over compensation regarding “Black Widow” and a divisive response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. His termination as CEO comes shortly after the company posted disappointing Q4 earnings, including a $1.5 billion loss in direct-to-consumer, a revenue total, and shares that fell 7%. Chapek faced accusations of mishandling his response by minimizing the losses, and Iger is expected to reverse many of his former colleagues’ decisions now that he’s leading the company again. In fact, he’s already started, by removing Kareem Daniel, one of Chapek’s top lieutenants, from his post as chairperson of Disney’s Media and Entertainment Distribution.
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